IVORY: The age of Gloarian

Chapter 13

    It had been years since the Alpha had set foot into a Galon temple, for he knew the fury that the flame would emit upon his arrival. As much as Razaar wished to stay clear of the flame, he knew that it was time to finally face his fears and take responsibility for his actions. The great Alpha of Gloarian readied himself for what was about to come as he proceeded towards the entrance gates of the hybrid territory where Eliana had been waiting. As he approached, none of them uttered a word, simply nodding at each other before they waited for all the guests to arrive. Eliana and her councilmen and women stood to one side as Razaar stood towards the other, maintaining a safe distance from each other as they awaited Razaar’s councilmembers to arrive at the scene. None of them spoke a word as they looked out into the distance, listening to the sound of the wind rush by them. Their intense staring had allowed them to visualise as the Alpha’s council, consisting mainly of well -built yet older figures, marched towards their Alpha. Once they arrived, a mere nod is all they delivered to those who were already present before taking their place behind their great Alpha.

    Not long after, the enemy of all Glorian made his entrance, a sly smirk plastered to his face as his council staggered behind him. As he surpassed the lines of the gates, he found himself making his way initially towards a figure he thought so gorgeous, that belonged to the hybrid leader. The lycan found himself gripping her hand in his and bridging it up to his mouth to place a firm kiss on it, surprising and disgusting the leader almost instantly. Razaar had done his best to hold in his growl as he watched the segment unfold.

    ‘The rumours are true, you are a thing of immense beauty. It is a pleasure to meet you Miss Genova, I am Balthazar Tin’. He flirted, angering the Alpha even more, if that was even possible. Eliana, on the other hand, amazed at the actions of the Lycan Alpha, had managed to maintain her calm despite the repulsion she felt towards Balthazar.

    ‘I’m flattered. If you will, please follow us to the Galon where this meeting will be taking place’ she stated flatly, taking the attention off her successfully. The Lycan Alpha, however, had other plans as faced his nemesis for a quick introduction. 

    ‘Ahh, Razaar, hope you’re doing alright brother. How is your mother doing?’ he mocked, pushing the Alpha - who up until had been controlling himself - over the edge. The growl that Razaar had thus far suppressed had been released, and the Alpha found himself charging towards the ruthless Balthazar. Eliana, however, had successfully intervened to avoid the extra bloodshed on her grounds, and had placed a gentle hand over her mate’s chest, watching him calm down almost instantly. It was an act that certainly caught the eye of the heartless leader, but it had also not failed to amuse all other witnesses around. Some of them gasped inwardly at the sight, but had decided to keep the assumptions to themselves. Balthazar, who would have normally raised the concern in the form of a ridicule, decided to remain silent, cooking up a way to assess his theory later.

    ‘Ignore his words. We have bigger problems to be dealing with, you can fight him later’ she merely whispered to the man, watching his eyes meet hers before he shook the anger away reluctantly. Avoiding gazes with the master of villains, they all proceeded to follow the hybrid direction towards the direction of the Galon where the judicial process would take place. 

    Razaar’s fists clenched as he ventured into the holy establishment, doing his best not to look directly at the flame as they walked towards it. As per usual, the Galoess sat behind, her eyes shut as she conducted her duty with incantations being released from her mouth. As the lot approached, she found herself switching her eyes open, to face the crowd ahead. 

    ‘You wish to have a council meeting’ she stated, knowing without being told what was about to occur. Eliana nodded, remaining silent at the sight of the powerful woman. The flame clearly had something to say as the fire rose more than usual, signalling it’s wrath towards both Razaar and Balthazar, in the most indirect of ways. It was only the Galoness who understood the actions of the flame, though for once, she chose not to interpret them publicly, and in turn, closed her eyes and opened the pathway behind her, revealing the sacred judiciary courts that every Galon of Gloarian had held for centuries. 

    The group stumbled inside, closing the door to the flame behind as they took their seats where they belonged. The massive arena held spots for all of the categories on Zaleon, with spaces for leaders, second and third in commands, council members and a single spokesman. As per the law of Gloarian, the spokesman had been chosen based on the grounds that the meeting had been taking place in, and since the hybrids were hosting the meeting, Eliana had designated her top spokesman for the duty. 

    The spokesperson, who had already been present in the room before their arrival, stood up on the pedestal that corresponded to him as the rest took their place on their seats before he began with the procedure. Despite the power of the leaders, court proceedings gave more power to the council members to make decisions that leaders could’t defy. As the leaders looked amongst themselves, seated in the corners of their segments, the trio could still feel the tension that lurked in the air. Balthazar simply smiled indifferently as he sat back in his chair, knowing well the orders he had given his council members, and the beating that had followed it to ensure they delivered the message that he had wished to deliver. 

    It was with the constant silence that haunted the arena that the spokesperson received his queue to begin. 

    ‘This council meeting is taking place at Hybrid Galon to resolve the alerting issue involving Alpha of Lycanthropes - Balthazar Tin- leader of the Hybrids - Eliana Genova - and great Alpha of the Werewolves - Razaar Solonov - along with Lycanthrope council members - Porten, Fluviere, Idrio - Hybrid council members - Jonsen, Lotter, Wido - and Werewolf council members - Imena, Osa, Diara - and Spokesperson - Jego Eron - I, will be in charge of conducting today’s meeting and inducing the final verdict. Anyone against the order of this meeting and the flame please take your leave now before I proceed to introduce the case’ He began, waiting for any member to make a move. After no one did, he continued ‘Very well. Let’s commence. As stated on the official request for this meeting, leader of Lycans -Balthazar Tin- launched an attack on Hybrid territory in attempts to procure Eliana Genova and her community to their side for the upcoming war between Leader of Werewolves - Razaar Solonov and Leader of Lycans,  Balthazar Tin. As a result, Miss Eliana Genova requests to form a truce with Balthazar Tin by offering a compensation of 100 gold coins to opt out of taking part in the upcoming war. It is noted that 50 of the gold coins to be paid will be provided by Razaar Solonov to demonstrate his acceptance of the terms and conditions of the Hybrid leader. Werewolf council members, please present your case’ he mentioned after what seemed like ages. 

    Eliana had almost fallen asleep at the large, detailed speech of the Spokesperson, though she knew it was a formality that had to take place. 

    On the other side of her, Razaar’s council members stood up, ready to agree with the hybrid leader. 

    ‘The upcoming war is between the lycanthropes and werewolves only, there should be no need to involve anyone else in the matter, it is as simple as that. Our contribution to the fees of the truce proves Miss Genova’s lack of a stance in this war and we believe that is enough to settle the matter and move on’ spoke Diara with complete normality.  A moment of silence followed as they resumed to their places, and the Spokesperson moved on to the next subject. 

    ‘Thank you. Lycanthrope council members, please stand up and present your case’ he introduced, watching the shaky lycans elevate from their place and face the rest of the audience. 

    ‘It is our belief that by providing refuge to Mr Solonov’s mate, Eiva Matouk, Miss Genova has clearly highlighted the abundance of a stance she holds in this war. It is due to that reason that Balthazar Tin requests Miss Genova to either join the lycan side or get ready to be against the lycanthropes’ they argued, clearly putting in the effort to force the words out of their mouth, words that had not been theirs, for sure. Eliana and Razaar shared a knowing glance, fully aware that these were council members that had been threatened to say words that didn’t belong to them. It had become apparent that this case wouldn’t go as smoothly as they had predicted, yet they waited patiently for their turn to settle the matter, hoping that for once, the flame would work in their favour. 

    Once again, as per the procedure, the Spokesperson interjected as the lycan council members took their seats. 

    ‘Very well. Hybrid council members, please stand up and present your case’ he repeated once again. 

    ‘We understand that it may seem that way and are therefore willing to send Eiva Matouk pack to her pack lands as an understanding of this concern. However, once done, we solemnly believe there is nothing more to drag us further into a chaos that the hybrids simply do not wish to be a part of. We therefore would like to compensate with 100 gold coins as mentioned, and settle the matter, exempting the hybrids from any involvement in this war’ supported council member Jonsen, looking briefly at his leader to receive a nod of confirmation from her. He then sat back down, allowing the Spokesperson to lead the meeting forward, all members getting more and more impatient to hear the final verdict.

    ‘Lycanthrope council, please present your final argument before the verdict is made’ he stated, allowing the lycans to take over once again. 

    ‘We believe that due to the loss of several of our members at the attack we should be compensated more. We also acknowledge the offer and understanding that leader Eliana Genova is providing us with. We therefore would like to renegotiate the terms of her release from this war at 150 gold coins and the eviction of Eiva Matouk off hybrid grounds.’ They completed, looking guilty as they took their seat and handed the spotlight over to the Spokesperson.

    ‘Does anyone else, Hybrid or Werewolf have anything else to say?’ he questioned. Eliana pushed her council member up to butt in with their comments. 

    ‘The loss of the lycan members at the fight was solely the fault of the lycanthropes themselves. Had they not sent the attack the loss could have been prevented. We should therefore not have to pay the extra price for something that was not within our control! It’s outrageous!’ exclaimed the councilman, tired of getting up and seating himself back down. 

    ‘If all arguments have been made, I will now asses the situation and come to a conclusion’ He began, capturing the eyes of absolutely everyone in the room ‘It seems the Hybrids make a fair point to counter the argument made by the Lycans regarding the death of Lycanthrope members at the attack on Hybrid grounds. The Hybrid community should not have to pay for the damage started by the Lycanthropes. Additionally, Miss Genova’s offer to evict Miss Matouk rids herself of any connection whatsoever to the Werewolves, and as  originally offered, the compensation of 100 gold coins seems a fair trade to release Miss Genova and the Hybrids from a war that does not concern them in the slightest. I therefore declare that the terms of this truce are the following: at the eviction of Eiva Matouk and the delivery of 100 gold coins to Mr Balthazar Tin - Alpha of the Lycanthropes - Miss Eliana Genova - leader of Hybrids- and the rest of her community will be spared from any misfortunes of the upcoming battle between Werewolf great Alpha Razaar Solonov and Lycanthrope Alpha, Balthazar Tin.’ He concluded, spreading relief through Eliana’s system as she could almost taste her freedom. 

    Razaar, however, had not felt the same way as the constant expression of mischief remained on Balthazar’s face. The Alpha knew that his enemy had not had his end fulfilled and would surely do something to do more damage to him and Eliana. 

    The group bowed their heads to the Spokesperson before they all found themselves leaving the sacred place and rushing back to the entrance gates, wanting desperately to get rid of the enemy from the premises. As they did approach the gates, Balthazar stepped closer to Eliana once again, wanting not more than to convey an offer, one that he had planned in his mind as the meeting carried forward, wanting to find out the truth of what was going on between the Alpha of werewolves and the leader of the hybrids. 

    ‘It was a pleasure doing business with you Eliana’ he began, amused by the nonchalant expression on her face. 

    ‘Please, call me Miss Genova’ she responded, reminding herself of the first time she had done that with her mate, who surprisingly in the moment, had not been the worst of people around her. Balthazar chuckled as he peeked a glance at Razaar and returned his gaze to Eliana, curious to see Razaar’s reaction at the close proximity between him and her. It was certainly an aspect that had been bothering Razaar, nevertheless, he remained silent as he stood stationary in his place, knowing full well what Balthazar was up to, and also aware that if his enemy found out Eliana was in fact, his mate, the poor woman would have to suffer the consequences of the revelation. 

    ‘Forgive me Miss Genova. I would like to invite you and Alpha Solonov to the Annual Giera Ball that I’m hosting tomorrow evening. I think it would be a good way for us to put these events behind us and for Mr Solonov and I to have a moment of professionalism before we proceed to s*******r each other’s packs.’ He suggested, catching them both by surprise. Eliana found herself deep in thought for a moment, knowing full well that if she denied the offer it would only anger the Alpha, and that was something she couldn’t risk. 

    ‘Of course, I will be there’ she then responded after deep consideration. Razaar, who tensed at her words accepted too, knowing he would most certainly not abandon his mate with the man he despised. 

    Balthazar smirked at their responses, finally taking a leave from Eliana’s territory, turning into his beast as he did so. 

    Razaar dismissed his council members, who a moment later sped off in the same direction, and Eliana watched her own council disappear from sight until it was just the pair left to their lonesome. Wordlessly the two made their way back to the office, passing by the tiny assistant as they did so. 

    ‘Find me Miss Eiva Matouk please, get her sent to my office’ she instructed as they walked into the room and closed the door behind him. 

    ‘Eliana why on earth would you-’

    ‘Because I had no choice!’ interrupted Eliana knowing already what her mate was about to mention. 

    ‘He’s clearly up to something, by going to this ball you’re just putting yourself in more danger. You could have made up an excuse and politely declined’ he commented, seating himself in front of her, his frustration taking over. 

    ‘Razaar, I said I had no choice. If I would have rejected his offer he would have jumped at the opportunity to get revenge anyways. This way at least he doesn’t have the element of surprise. We’ll just have to be cautious. This entire thing has been a nuisance to begin with, let’s just go and get this over with so I don’t have to see him every again’ she said, exasperated as always. 

    ‘Why do I get the feeling that he won’t leave you alone even after the ball?’ he asked, mostly to himself.

    ‘Then you better kill him when you go to war’ responded Eliana. The opening of the door shook them both. As their eyes fell upon the fragile Eiva they released a sigh of relief. 

    ‘You alright?’ questioned her proclaimed mate, observing as she took a seat next to him. 

    ‘I’m fine, thank you. How was the meeting? What happened?’ the poor woman asked, trying her best to get involved in a situation the strong headed leaders had continuously pushed her out of. The woman had reached her quota of loneliness and found herself resenting the lack of respect she had been getting from her proclaimed mate. Despite knowing she would be of no use to the pair she felt upset that the great Luna of Gloarian couldn’t even form part of a meeting. 

    ‘Well the plan worked, but we think Balthazar is up to something bigger. He’s invited the two of us to a ball tomorrow on his grounds, we just hope he won’t take the opportunity to attack. We still have to come up with a proper plan to be ready to go against anything that may happen’ retorted the hybrid leader, trying her best to give the woman the respect that Razaar had refused to. 

    ‘Do you think he’d really harm us in plain sight? In the middle of a ball? Surely more leaders will-’

    ‘Woah, wait, us?’ Razaar interrupted, causing the tender woman to nod innocently. Eliana cringed at the events she foresaw coming, and could only feel bad for the poor Luna of Gloarian as Razaar reopened his mouth ‘You’re not coming Eiva. It’s too dangerous for you to be there. You can’t protect yourself and I need to be alert for anything he might try’ he finished, causing Eliana to close her eyes as she shook her head in disappointment, knowing exactly what was about to come. 

    As expected, Eiva had not taken his words well, and the astounded woman simply nodded, picking herself off the chair.

    ‘Seems there’s no point in me being here then since I’m of no value. I’ll be in the cottage’ she simply stated, the sorrow evident on her expression as she walked out of the office. 

    Razaar, who had instantly started feeling guilty, shook his head and turned back around to face a glaring Eliana. 

    ‘Why do you treat her like that? I told you not to do it’ she cursed, observing him squint his eyes in confusion.

    ‘It’s the truth!’ he defended, despite the shame he felt at that moment. 

    ‘That doesn’t mean you have to rub it in her face like that Razaar. Did you see her face when she walked in? She already feels left out and unvalued, and she knows that she can’t fight, especially when faced with a female leader who can. The only difference is that I’ve been training my whole life for these moments. That girl, as you stated, grew up around governesses and lady’s maids, she had no idea she was going to be the great Luna of all Gloarian. So the least you could do is at least try to comfort her, because believe me she knows that she can’t fight, but still she wants to help. Only difference is she can’t because her thick headed mate won’t even bother to include her. Stop pushing her away you arrogant prick!’ exclaimed Eliana, attempting to usher her mate out of the room to go chase after his proclaimed mate and drag her back. 

    ‘You’re my mate though’ joked Razaar, a joke that clearly wasn’t funny enough to the hybrid leader. 

    ‘Go and bring her back’ he ordered, watching the smirk drop off his face as he got up and lumped across to the door, finally heading to retrieve his proclaimed mate. As he did so, Eliana thought back to his prior comment and wondered exactly how she reached this point of comfort with someone that not even two weeks ago, she had been violently fighting with. How was it that she had knocked him out in snake form not a week ago and now the two were acting like best buds? How was it that the conversation of their rejection and relationship had become so nonchalant that it had lost their significance? But most importantly, how was it that Eliana was genuinely so concerned about his proclaimed mate, to the point where she had been instructing her rejected mate on how to be a better man for Eiva rather than herself? 

    She had answers for none of her questions, of course, but she prayed to the flame that the horror of facing her mate would be over soon, and she could go back to her old life. 

    Until then, she had just one more day to get through. Or so she thought, because the worst was yet to come.